There's Healing in Goodbye (To The Girl I Used to Know)
by bookstvnerdlove
Summary: Follows 'Tied to You' and 'I Give'. Maggie notices things. Beth heals.


**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

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Maggie watches and waits, which does not come naturally to her.

When she was a kid, Maggie feels she drove her father to gray (and then white) more rapidly than time might have allowed. She always acted, not without thinking, but maybe without following a path of forethought far enough. When she was a little kid, Beth was always the more deliberate of the two. She was like a turtle sometimes, Maggie thinks, all deliberate and slow and sometimes timid, but always carefully staying the course. Maggie feels to need to channel Beth, now, as she watches her sister carefully for _signs_.

She watches the way Beth's eyes follow Daryl constantly, boldly, with knowledge and intent. In a way that is so different than she was with Jimmy, more timid with girlish giggles and blushes. Maggie also notices how Daryl avoids her eyes when they are hunting, or sitting watch at night, shifting downwards. She notices that he always looks askance when somebody mention's Beth's name. She does not know what Daryl is, or was, like with women, he's so solitary sometimes, despite being surrounded always by the people he takes to heart.

One day, Maggie oversees a conversation between the two of them. She does not mean to keep watching when she realizes that their hands are brushing against each other every other stride. Not fully clasped together, but not apart either. She would be surprised at that, but Maggie also remembers the way that nobody, not even their Daddy, could talk Beth into or out of something once she made up her mind. Maggie cannot help but just keep watching, because as much as she just wants Beth to be _okay_, she wants to feel close to her sister again. She watches as they continue to walk, down the path, until the trees become too thick and Glenn calls for her to go scouting with him.

(The supplies are running low, again, and nobody talks about the disaster that was Terminus. It is like a silent pact. They all fell for it, so they all ignore it. Moving onwards and outwards is harder to do than it was before their time at the prison. The recent memory of shelter and food and community so fresh and so missed.)

Some nights with Glenn she talks about Beth and tells him of her fears. Fears that Glenn understands well, moving past but never forgetting their time at Woodbury and the way the governor played with their lives. Glenn is always so steady (and goofy and _sweet_). So unlike the men, no _boys_, she was drawn to before. He tells her to give Beth time. A concept which she both understands and does not because time heals but it also festers.

One day, they find a stream so Glenn keeps watch as Maggie and Beth bathe for the first time in weeks. Maggie laughs at how quickly they got used to running fast and far without the old comforts of home, and shares this with Beth, who agrees, with slightly less glee than she used to which makes Maggie worry more about all of things left unsaid.

(Earlier that day, Daryl pulled her aside and told her that Beth has more a strength than people credit her with. Maggie just rolled her eyes because, _of course_, she knows that. But doesn't he understand that an older sibling sometimes worries more than she should? And she watches the flicker in Daryl's eyes and could punch herself because she remembers Merle and she remembers how much he traded on blood ties to make Daryl all tore up inside. So she told him, much more gently, that she knows Beth is strong but she always wants Beth to be _happy_.)

After their short swim, Maggie sits behind her sister and starts braiding a small patch of Beth's hair. Beth laughs, "I'm not eight years old anymore, Maggie."

Maggie snorts, "Yeah. But remember when you were and I'd braid your hair."

She hears the smile in Beth's response, "You would braid my hair and let me borrow your nail polish. And _I_ would make a mess trying to paint my toenails."

Suddenly the tears form in Maggie's eyes and she curses. Beth, being sweet and intuitive and kind, slides back into her, and Maggie's arms just wrap around her little sister.

"You know, Maggie," she says quietly. "You know that I faced choices that women have been making since the beginning of time. Things that you might never have been able to save me from even if the world had continued on like normal."

Maggie whispers back, "Yeah. But I wish you hadn't had to make them."

Beth sighs and curls her knees into her torso, leaning her head against them, "But I did. And I'm okay with the choice I made. And I'll continue to be okay."

_And that has to be enough_, Maggie thinks but does not say out loud. She knows that Beth can hear her anyway, as the pounding of her heart slows to a normal pulse.

(Days later on a quiet day at the camp, Maggie watches again. Not even sorry to pry on a private moment, as Beth jumps on Daryl's back playfully. She watches as he turns his head to give her a small kiss. She finally turns away as she notices Beth slide the ground and grab his hand, running off into the woods.)

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_A/N: So, this concludes a three-part series of ficlets that play out a scenario of Beth returning after being taken in Season 4. It may be a bit controversial, the choice that I had Beth make in part 2. And it is hard to read about. But I hope this third part helps to jumpstart the healing that can take place after such events. And I hope that you were able to take something from these ficlets. _


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